On Black Wings I Rise, On Black Wings I Fall

Alright people! I’m back! After two weeks, I’ve finally returned from the dark! And with a 6000 word chapter, no less! Well, I think I’ve wasted your time for long enough. On to the chapter!

On Black Wings I Soar, On Black Wings I Fall
Chapter Nine
I’m Wide Awake

Alone Abyss sat within the darkness of his own sub-conscious, legs crossed and face twisted in annoyance. The first time that his mind decided to go all jail cell on his fur covered ass, and Abyss had to be trapped in a never-ending void with nothing to do.

Questions bounded around in the mind of the warrior. Was he alive? Was he dead? Was he stuck in a coma from which he would never awaken? Or was his body being prodded with sharp objects by a medical practitioner with the experience of a fruit bat? Unfortunately, Abyss had naught to give him an inkling to the answers.

And so the feline remained in the darkness of his mind, watching, waiting, and most importantly, hoping that no one would arrive to ruin the peace and quite that he so rightfully deserved.

In, out. In, out. thought Abyss as he remained deep in meditation. Aside from causing a Flare equal to that of Twilight Sparkle, Abyss had adopted the habit of meditation for relaxation. A outlet for tension that one gains in his life and requires release. Without violent interactions, that is.

But even in his private solace in the dark, Abyss couldn’t help but fell worried about himself. Had he made it out of the Arena? Were his wounds too great? And if he had, what became of Dusk? While the eagle irritated the Baraq to no end, he felt compelled to at least fell a shred of concern for the mass of intangible energy that he was sure wanted to shove a short-sword up his ass.

But nonetheless, Dusk had helped him on more than one occasion, even if that did come with the ridicule from the equivalent of a teenager with a undeveloped prefrontal cortex. But Abyss was in that same boat, at least where mental development was concerned.

And so a smile broke out on the feline’s maw. Even in the cold loneliness of whatever the Oblivion was, Abyss could find happiness by simply humming a happy little tune to himself. The darkness was comforting in an almost surreal way. Simply being alone with a jaunty little tune playing in his head was enough to keep the feline content.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and for Abyss, that time unfortunately came in the from of a white-haired prick.

Before the Baraq’s eyes materialized Fracture, crimson t-shirt, blue jeans and bleached hair in all.

“Well done, Abyss.” spoke the inter-dimensional human. “I must admit that your time in the Arena was much entertainment to watch.”

“Entertainment?” rebutted Abyss as he rose from the floor of his sub-conscious. “Was that all that was to you? This isn’t the Capitol you fucking psychopath.”

Abyss, at least during his time as a human, had read tale after tale of totalitarian governments that enjoyed the slaughter of animals, robots, and even each other, for nothing else but sport. It sickened him, and yet at the same time intrigued him, at creations the twisted machinations of writer’s mind was capable of fabricating.

Yet after living through the hellish series of events that the fictional characters trapped in text on paper had also lived through, the fate of having to mercilessly murder fellow members of your species (or any other species, for that matter) for other people’s enjoyment was simply putrid in theory, and even worse in practice.

“Well, I do have a nasty habit of sadism, mind you.” replied Fracture with a smirk. The human began to slowly walk away from Abyss, his hands clutched behind his back like some CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation. “However, while I will admit that your blunders in your combat where incredibly laughable, your skills in the world of combat were just as laughable, if not more so.”

This notion angered Abyss, even though he knew it to be true. His time on the Internet dealing with trolls, ten-year olds and just straight up ass-holes had turned him into a man of argumentation, and Fracture was no exception.

“What do you mean ‘just as laughable’? I was able to hold my own in that Arena. Longer than you could, at least.”

The human scoffed at the poorly supported remark. “Please! Your form was sloppy, your attacks were predictable, and may I remind you that the only reason you’re still alive is because your weapon, who doesn’t even have a corporeal form, I might add, saved your furry rear end halfway into the bloodbath!”

Abyss was losing this argument all to quickly. “Well I have yet to see you do anything that can justify you know an inkling more about combat than I do!” berated the warrior.

In a sudden bipolar burst, the slick, suave smart-ass quickly became a blood-thirsty killing with a soul cold as ice. In one fell swoop, Fracture tackled Abyss to the ground, flipping him onto his stomach and placing him in the ever-popular bone breaking hold.

“Now you listen to me, whelp.” Fracture whispered as his hold on Abyss grew stronger. “I’ve seen wars. Wars that have leveled entire kingdoms. Wars that those pathetic battles in the history books you used to bury yourself in would pale in comparison if you were there to witness them.”

The human released his bone-breaking hold on Abyss, the feline clutching his arms while Fracture began walking into the darkness.

“And during those wars, I have acquired a very particular set of skills; skills that I have acquired over a very long, and very bloody career. The next time you dare show such physical ineptitude and incompetence, make no mistake. I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

“And what does that gain you, genius?” Abyss inquired as he rose to his feet while still clutching his arm. “With killing me, you loose your patron in this ‘Chess Game of the Gods’, moron!”

Fracture began to evilly chuckle to himself. Was his patron really so dense as to he he was. “Oh, my dear, sweet Baraq. You seem to so easily forgotten that I am a god. I have the ability to jump between the dimensions of the planes of reality. If I lose on my knight in these games, I’ll simply find myself a king to replace him.”

“But I thought the king was the second-least powerful piece in chess.” Replied the feline with a snicker at his clever remark.

Fracture let out a frustrated growl in annoyance at the fact that he was getting punk’d by a teenager. He was a being from a higher plane capable of bending space and time itself! And yet he couldn’t outsmart someone with a fraction of his age.

“Regardless, I can dispose of you at any given moment. So unless you want to experience death for the second time, I suggest you find a way to better yourself in the world of armed and unarmed combat.”

“And how am I supposed to do that, O mighty patron?”

Another smirk broke out on Fracture’s face as he turned to face his pawn.

“Just wake up.”

With the argument coming to an end, the floor under Abyss’ feet shattered like fragile glass, falling into the endless void as Abyss began to plummet with it.

“Ta, ta, Abyss.” Fracture waved good-bye as the feline continued to fall into the pit.

Abyss didn’t care where in existence the never-ending void of darkness would take him. He just wanted to know he was alive.

ρηγλδαζ

The hazel eyes of the feline slowly opened from their locked state as a blinding light caused Abyss to wince before refocusing his gaze. With a clear sight after a few seconds, Abyss found himself in the middle of what seemed to be an infirmary. A window to his left, a small wooden bed at the opposite wall, and the door to his right. Nothing extravagant like those back on Earth, but warm and welcoming in its quaint proportions.

Deciding that he should probably go inform someone that he was, well, alive, Abyss began to take small steps toward the door.

Except two things stopped him from doing so.

One, he was encased in a magical orb with a glimmering sigil underneath, most likely a incubation orb for healing mass injuries, that kept him from exiting his safety zone.

And two, he had been stripped of his clothes and his weapon, both of which sat against the wooden frame of the bed on the far side of the room.

Instinctively, the black wings of the feline wrapped around his exposed body, as he had lived with knowing that public nudity was a bit of an indecency. Even in the current society he found himself in, the citizens wore some form of rags over their furred bodies.

And there he was: trapped as a bubble boy, or bubble kitty, in the middle of a minuscule room with a single window and no signs of anyone coming to assist him. Being in the care of anthropomorphic winged felines was starting to sound a lot like solitary confinement to the warrior.

Not knowing whether or not the orb held its own source of oxygen, thought the former was most likely to be the case instead of the latter, Abyss wouldn’t take any chances. Seeing as he couldn’t break through the barrier on the inside, he decided that he would required some “external force”.

Within rehabilitation orb, the magical energy within Abyss began to concentrate solely on lacerating a single board in the room. Abyss thought that if he could puncture the shielding, or even land a hairline fracture on its surface, then he could try and find someone competent enough to tell him just what happened when he was out.

Within seconds, a sliver had been cut from the board, poised like a spear. Or a lego that one steps on and then goes on a rant in the language of those seafaring folk. The wooden spear gently floated over the indention it left as Abyss charged the sliver with magic, hoping to provide enough thrust to pierce the orb that held him captive.

After nearly a minute of charging, Abyss finally released the energy he had stored in a burst power, sending the splinter into the shielding. And in the next instant, the lone piece of wood began spiraling towards the door that lead to the outside hallway, only for it to stop abruptly in mid-flight.

Abyss was puzzled by the sudden end to his projectiles travel, only for the cause of the happening to walk into the infirmary in the next instant.

In walked Remedy, still wearing the pristine clothing that she had worn when treating the hole in his wing before the events in the Arena with a new set of clothing folded over her arm, while Dusk was clutched in the same paw. Her arrival was much to Abyss’ initial shock. Shock, but happiness.

Other than the king, and the queen to some extent, Remedy had been the only one to show Abyss kindness upon his first arrival in the land he was now stationed in. It warmed his heart that she was the one that had most likely cared for him during his time of unconsciousness.

“Oh, it seems that you’ve already awakened.” Remedy greeted with a smile, completely ignoring the sliver of wood that almost ventilated her frontal lobe. Walking in, letting the splinter fall to the ground, she closed the door with a subtle click, wandering over to the sigil on the floor.“That’s good. I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to give a rude awakening.”

Kneeling to the sigil, her fingertips barely touched the wooden floor as they began to glow with a bright white aura surrounding them. Similarly, her eyes held the same luminescence with the spell that she was disarming.

The sigil below Abyss began to unwrite itself, erasing into nothing as the glow from the mystical art faded with the shield as the Baraq continued her work. Abyss continued to bob within the incubator, watching with the eyes of a convicted student. He was studying the spell, trying to learn something about casting it from the way it was being performed. If he could learn how to deactivate the shield, maybe he could reverse engineer the sequence and teach himself to replicate it.

With the remaining lengths of the spell cast, the shield and sigil dissipated completely, letting Abyss drop to the ground , kneeling before Remedy as they met face to face, without the annoyance of a arcane healing shield between them.

“Oh, and next time you’re trying to escape” Remedy smugly replied while picking up the splinter that she had caught before ordering. “You should know that wood, unless you know how to properly enchant it, won’t even scratch the surface of the shields I’ve been taught to generate.”

A chuckle escaped Abyss’ maw. “A little cocky now, aren’t we?”

“Hm... call it confidence.” Remedy replied with a wink. “You should probably put these on.” Remedy said as she held up the new garments prepared for her patient. “His majesty has requested to speak with you personally.”

Handing the fresh threads to Abyss, Remedy laid the Baraq’s weapon against the cot in the infirmary, nodding back to Abyss before leaving him to himself.

Abyss rose back to his feet, deciding to slip on the bottom half of his garbs. The pants themselves were a fresh hakama pair, buckled in the center by an onyx belt of steel links and a golden emblem, an exact replica of his original, keeping the links together with a clasp. Abyss’ newest armor, however, was what intrigued him so.

The suit itself was designed like a standard T-shirt; lightweight, thin and flexible. The fabrics themselves were dyed a solid black, with only a bright crimson “X” breaking out on both sides of the top. The fabric itself wasn’t entirely cotton, or wool, or whatever had been used to construct the garment. Instead, the feeling of cold, but microscopic metal rubbed against the skin on Abyss’ fingertips. Bits of chain mail had been woven into the weaving pattern of the armor itself, providing excellent protection against whatever weapons the feline would encounter.

Finished with the examination of the shirt, Abyss slipped it on, rolling his shoulders back and going through a few stretches to test the elasticity of his new armor. It fit like a glove, bending to his every movement much more flexibly than the old leather cuirass he donned in the Arena.

His armor now out of the way, Abyss wandered over to the worn cot to find his prized possession; Remnant of Dusk. The void black blade of the spear gleamed in the sunlight breaking through the window, gently reflecting the light with a smooth metallic sheen. Abyss began to run his hand across the wooden hilt of the weapon. It felt as smooth as it did the first time he picked it up, not a single break in the vine-like carvings that had been etched into the wood. And looking at the amethyst, the vessel of Dusk’s spirit, he noticed that it gave off a particular kind of sparkle when gazed at. Like Dusk was... happy to be back with Abyss.

‘Like that’s actually the case.’

And all of the weapon’s undamaged splendor laid wrapped in a fresh leather sheath, the blade nestled in a holster made so that the blade’s split would lock it within the hold. It was very fine craftsmanship to Abyss as he slung the sheath over his shoulder.

A knocking at the door caught Abyss’ attention. Allowing the visitor to enter with a simple “Come in”, a guard clad bushido-esque armor stepped in. He immediately bowed to Abyss, confusing him before rising again to deliver his message.

“Greetings, Champion of the Arena. Madame Remedy had asked me to escort you to His Majesty. I presume that you have everything in order?”

Abyss gave a simple nod before being led out of the infirmary, into the hallways where he would have a conversation with someone that, hopefully, he could trust.

ρηγλδαζ

Abyss and the guard hadn’t said a word to each other. Both remained silent during the entirety of the escort. Abyss had a plethora of questions racing throughout his mind, though he thought best simply stay silent to avoid any unwanted incidents between the two.

Finally, the guard decided to speak up and break the silence. “His Majesty has been very curious about you Abyss. He would often have meetings with his advisors regarding whether or not you should have been executed on the spot during your trial.”

A heavy lump formed in Abyss’ throat at the thought of the advisors winning in that argument, happily swallowing said lump, thankful that the king had won out in the arguments.

“Pray tell” Abyss nervously replied “What has His Majesty found in my that he finds so intriguing?”

“He does not say. Though if I had to guess, I would say that it was your performance in the Arena that has peaked his curiosity.”

“My performance?” Abyss’ face twisted in question? “All I did was swing my weapon like a newb that didn’t know a spear from a spoon.”

“Newb?” The guard questioned while Abyss mentally face-palmed at the fact that no-one in the country spoke Gamer. “Well, I don’t know what you mean by ‘newb’, but while you combat abilities where that of a knave, your magical prowess says otherwise.”

“Magical prowess? I think I can hardly call ice-”

“We’ve arrived.” Interrupted the guard as the two felines stopped at two gargantuan wooden doors. Layer after layer of vines decorated the slabs of wood, cross-weaved over each other to hide the worn surfaces underneath.

‘Unorthodox’ Abyss thought ‘But inventive, nonetheless.’

“Only speak unless you’re spoken to.” said the guard, as if giving rules to Abyss. Then again, he was about to speak with the ruler of wherever he was. “Seeing as you’ve just escaped the jaws of the Arena, you wouldn’t want to find yourself inside them again, now would you?”

Abyss only nodded in affirmation. He was too anxious to say another word to his escort.

“Then all I have left to say is congratulations, Champion of the Arena.”

Giving one final bow of respect, the guard left Abyss standing before the doors to royalty. A million thoughts where racing through the feline’s head. What was the king really like? Was he as benevolent as during his trial? Or was it just a front? Why had the king of all people become intrigued by his meager abilities in combat? And what was the His Majesty going to do with him? None of these answers would come to him simply by standing in front of the doorway that held them all.

With one final deep intake of air, Abyss forced open the twin doors to the throne room, graciously walking inside to find the king, his queen missing from beside him, sitting at the head of the room. As the feline continued down the carpet-laden floor, his face stayed forward, but his eyes were flittering across his skull to get every glimpse of the room that he could get.

The windows themselves were quite large. Approximate to those in the Canterlot throne room, from what he remembered seeing in the episodes that featured it. No stained glass covered them, however. Nor any kind of conventional curtains or drapes. Instead, large layers of moss had been hung from the tops of the windows, letting in blades of light through their gaps.

Along the walls, pedestals and stands holding all manner of weapons stood, ranging from daggers to spears to entire sets of throwing knives.

‘Memorials for the deceased.’ Abyss guessed, as it seemed to be the most logical use for such presentations.

Stopping in the center of the room, Abyss fell to his knees, kneeling to the great patriarch
until given the signal to rise.

“Rise, Champion of the Arena.” Spoke the king. Abyss rose from his position while the king rose from his throne, slowly walking towards Abyss with his paws clutched behind his back. He wore the very same robes that he had during Abyss’ trial, giving a sense of familiarity to the situation and reducing the tension. “I take it you had a pleasant sleep?” Inquired the

Abyss nodded in response with a smile on his face. The king returned the look with a smile of his own as the two stand face to face.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t properly introduced myself. I am Solaris, ruler of the Kingdom Whose Name Has Been Lost, and son to King Ra-Shun.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.” Abyss replied. “The guard that escorted me here had informed of a certain... curiosity, that involves me. If you could enlighten me on what you find so intriguing about me.”

Solaris chuckled to himself at the comment. “Shido was always the talkative type. What has intrigued me so, Abyss, is your alignment with a certain kind of magic.”

“And what, pray tell, might that magic be?”

“Black Hellfire.”

Abyss’ mind froze at the mentioning of such an ungodly spell.

‘Black Hellfire’ Abyss thought to himself. ‘Could that’ve been the inferno that I unleashed at the end of my final confrontation?’

While Abyss was overcome by emotions of such negative power, he still held a grip on his basic motor functions. His stylized violence was a testimony to such control. He could see his actions, the horrors of his judgement on the murderer. The pain that such flames caused as they batted against his skin. It sickened him, even though he knew that the criminal deserved

“You seem surprised.” Solaris said, breaking the silence. Abyss shook himself from the shock of the revelation. “Hmm. I expected as much. Not many people know of the inferno’s existence, and those that do fear its power.” Solaris began to walk towards his throne, turning back to Abyss to say “Come. I will explain in the library.”

Solaris continued to walk down the throne room, motioning Abyss to follow with his arm, noticing that he had not begun to walk with him. With initial hesitation, the Baraq began to follow the regal, until both came to a halt at the two gold-plated seats.

Abyss was slightly befuddled by the halt in Solaris’ movement. They were just two twin seats. What importance could the two positions hold other than being the placeholder for the royals when addressing crowds of subjects or discussing new laws with delegates and upper class-men.

“By that look on your face, you’re probably wondering why we’ve stopped in front of the two thrones.”

Abyss’ head rose up with a “Huh?”, his attention recaptured after being brought from the deduction of his superior’s actions.

“I thought as much.” Solaris replied. “Perhaps it is best if I merely showed you.”

King Solaris graciously strode towards his throne, the larger of the two, stopping before it and gazing down at the floor. In the next instant, the blade of the noble slowly slid out of its decorated sheath, only to be thrust into the floorboards, sliding into a small crevice between the construction of the foothold.

Within seconds, the fractures in the wooden floorings began to glow with a dark violet luminescence as the boards began to detach themselves from their positions, phasing through the bolts that held the to the earth as the stone underneath began to rise from underneath the surface of the ground itself. As the bright orange rock continued to grow in height, the boards began to rearrange themselves, building bridges between the pillars of stone.

At full height, the gigantic pillars of earth were revealed to be a never-ending series of shelves, housing every kind of tome or scroll imaginable. It truly was a sight to behold.

The sheer amount of tomes, scrolls and endless information was enough to take anyone's breath away. But this was even more so for Abyss. On multiple occasions, Abyss had found himself buried in the pages of a fantastical tale involving dragons or giants, or sometimes an encyclopedia ranging from beasts of jungles to the cultures of different societies. Regardless, the feline devoured every word implanted in the records like they were sweet Ambrosia from Olympus. He would go for days on end without putting down whatever was occupying him, and when Abyss had finished whatever had first intrigued him, he'd simply find another topic that fascinated him more.

A series of guffaws began to erupt from the king, jerking Abyss’ head back to his attention.

“I see that my study has caught your attention, Abyss.”

“Caught it?” Abyss replied. “This collection is amazing! How manny records are held in these shelves?”

“Approximately 34,587 tomes and scrolls.”


“WHAT?!” Exclaimed Abyss.

Another series of chuckles erupted from the mouth of Solaris.

“You assume things far too easily, Abyss. To tell the truth, I’ve no idea of the number of records stored in these shelves. The notes that you see here have been stored in under this room since the founding of this country; since the times that King Dusk and the Great Wasteland Wars. Everything that we’ve learned, from every spell performed to every fighting technique; all the knowledge from every citizen that’s lived in this kingdom is here for anyone to use. With my permission, of course!”

Abyss joined in with the king’s guffaws at this remark. The king was already so trusting of Abyss. To be joking around with the warrior in such a casual manner; it puzzled Abyss. On so many occasions, Abyss had been distrusted by familiar acquaintances. His bitterness grew towards most of humanity, though like most people in society, he had learned to wear a mask. This sudden show of deep trust seemed odd; unfamiliar even.

Though the joined chuckling from Abyss was enough to give Solaris a clear enough answer.

“Now, I believe that you were asking about the Black Hellfire?” Spoke Solaris.

In response, Abyss gave a simple nod of confirmation.

“Then follow me.”

Without missing a beat, Solaris’ pristine wings expanded to their full lengths, elevating off the ground and upwards to a walkway fifteen feet above him. Abyss quickly followed in suit, the two of them strolling across the wooden foothold, passing row after row of gargantuan records that Abyss never took his eyes off of.

“Tell me, Abyss.” Solaris began. “Do any of these titles seem familiar to you?”

The eyes of Abyss became more focused on what exactly he was reading instead of just the books themselves. Intently, the feline studied spine after spine of books, noticing similarities in the languages that he studied out of spare interest back on Earth. Bits of Latin, Greek and English-esque configurations. Abyss remained silent throughout his observation, not even responding to the question of His Majesty.

A groan of disappointment, whispered through his teeth, escaped the maw of Solaris at Abyss’ answer. Even though Solaris had no intention of the feline to hear the sound, the over-curiosity, combine with the feline ears that Abyss had acquired...

“Shame. Tell me, Abyss.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Replied the feline.

“What country did you say you had arrived from?”

“Uh... What??”

Solaris’ ears perked at the sound of the response. “Hmm. I don’t believe I’ve heard of this ‘What’.” Stopping in his movements, Solaris took to the air again, lightly flapping his wings to stay elevated to remove a bright jade book from the stocks before returning to the bridge where Abyss still stood. “Do your people speak Baraq in What, Abyss?”

“Oh, uh... no sir.”

“Pity.” The pages of the book fluttered opened with a flick of Solaris’ wrist, stopping at a page with an illustration of eight different flames. “We’ll just have to fix that, now won’t we?” Abyss began to wander to Solaris, just gazing over his shoulder as he waited the explanation he had been told he would be given.

“Now Abyss” Solaris began. “In the realm of magic that we have studied, eight types of flame have appeared are able to be cast. There is the Green Lifefire” He continued, pointing to the bright green fire illustrated. “The Blue Stormfire, the Red Furyfire, the Yellow Lumenfire, the Violet Fearfire, the White Purefire, the Orange Solarfire” Solaris stopped, taking in a deep breath before deciding to continue. The atmosphere of the room intensified. Abyss could hear his own heartbeat ringing in his ears, as well as the very gales blowing outside as they rustled the moss covering the windows. “And the Black Hellfire.” Solaris finished, pointing to a fire of blackest night. The photo itself seemed to emanate pure wrong, pain and misery. The eyes of the over-watching stayed motionless, only moving in the dilation of their pupils.

“The Black Hellfire has been known to our kingdom as a cursed flame; one of ungodly agony and suffering. And with good reason. While many of our species view the flame as cursed or evil, only those that have truly seen the use of this fire know that it is the most powerful weapon in an arcane’s arsenal.”

This particular notion peaked Abyss’ interest. “What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

With a dull clap, the jade tome came to a close before being lifted up to the indention that it left and slipped back into its slot.

“Black Hellfire has been known not to burn, but to cause pain.” Solaris began again, starting to walk down the bridge again with Abyss closely following in earshot. “It does not kill; it does not incinerate the objects it comes into contact with, if that object happens to be living, at least. But that is not it’s only use.”

Was Solaris contradicting his own statement? Black Hellfire, used for something more than just pain? For something more than just... evil?

“Unbeknownst to most arcane masters, be it their general disapproval of the fire or their hesitance to study it further, Black Hellfire has the capabilities to have the effects of the other seven Ancient Fires.”

A pair of eyes shot open with the revelation of such power in one’s possession. Both Abyss and Solaris ceased walking across the platform, the royal pausing before deciding to continue in his explanation.

‘Could what Solaris be saying really be true? But, then again, what are the other effects of these Ancient Fires? For all I know, they could be just as dangerous as the Hellfire’s.’

“Your Majesty.” Finally spoke Abyss. “If you could elaborate on these... effects. I’m merely skeptical on what the other fires are capable of doing.”

A humble smile crept across the face of Solaris. “But of course. After all, you’ve only encountered a single kind of Ancient Fire, so it’s only natural that you would be dubious concerning the existence of beneficial uses of these flames. I believe that an example is the most efficient way of proving this point.”

With a simple waving of his paw, a bright white flame appeared just... floating above the palm of Solaris’ paw, flickering in the wind of the room.

“Now, this White Purefire. Like all the other Ancient Fires, it has the sole potential to burn, as do all fires that happen to spark. However, White Purefire is a special case. It’s power to incinerate breaches the physical level, going onto the mental level, and even the spiritual level.”

“Spiritual level, sir?” Abyss inquired.


“Yes, though I believe that particular notion is best saved for another time. Instead, let’s keep the level of burning at a mental level. Now, White Purefire, with its unparalleled ability to burn and scorch, can either destroy a memory that one holds in their mind, or brand an image or idea into their very conscious. This fire has been used to wipe clean the memories of those that have escaped the Arena alive, at least where their criminal minds are concerned.”

‘Wait.’ Abyss thought. ‘If that really is the case, then why do I still remember everything before jumping into that hellhole? Why do I still remember getting shot with that arrow, and that slap across the face that I swear was given by a back-hand made of steel.’

“I believe that’s all that needs to be said, Abyss?”

Taking himself away from his personal arguments and further speculations, Abyss merely replied with a “Yes, Your Majesty” to answer the king’s question.

“Good. Now, come with me. There is a request that I wish to give you.” Spoke the king before lifting himself from the walkway and began floating down to where he had imbedded his blade, in front of the two thrones. The feline that he had been conversing with was following him soon after.

Another set of gears began to turn in the mind of Abyss. A request? For what? His skills in combat were amateur at best. Or maybe he was underestimating himself. His arcane abilities, while somewhat useful, weren’t the most polished that he had witnessed either. Then again, the Black Hellfire was enough to disprove that.

Reaching the two thrones, Abyss gently landed on the floor with a dull thud, patiently awaiting the request of Solaris as he removed his blade from the indention in the floor.

“Abyss, the rest of this small country will be celebrating an... anniversary, of sorts. My personal advisors, as well as those that I’ve invited, will be attending a private ceremony for the celebration. A retelling of the tale, if you would. It would be my greatest honor if you would attend as my personal guest.”

Stalwart, Abyss intently started into the eyes of the man giving the request. This wasn’t exactly what he was expecting, but still...

‘Alright, what can I gain from this? On the upside, I can learn a bit of history of this species from this celebration. On the downside, I might possibly gain the distrust of those closest to the king, as well as a few jeers from aforementioned advisors. Then again, it’s not like I haven’t been faced with such rabble before, now is it?'

“Your Majesty , it would be both my honor and privilege to attend your celebration.”

A content smile appeared on Solaris’ maw. “Excellent. Now, I won’t have to kill you.”

Abyss’ heart stopped at this. Not a single beat came before the halt; it simply came to an abrupt stop without any single hesitation.

After a failed attempt of stifling his laughter, the king began to burst out in a hysterical state of joking delight.

“You-you should have seen the look on your face, my boy.” said Solaris in between his gasps for air. “I was merely joking, Abyss. You must learn not to take things so seriously.”

Despite the reassuring gesture from Solaris, Abyss’ face simply stayed frozen in a look of shock and horror for nearly twenty seconds before the feline snapped back into reason and reality.

“Oh.” A low shade of red covered Abyss’ cheeks. “Heh, heh. So, when and where is this celebration, Your Majesty?”

“It will be held in three days time. I will have Remedy be your escort to the event, considering that the location is secret, and you wouldn’t be able to find your way to the location without a proper map. And even if you did have a proper map, you wouldn’t be able to read it.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Abyss replied with a bow.


“It’s really no trouble, Abyss. Now, I will have another one of my guards escort you to where you will be staying during your time here. Feel free to use the library at your leisure, as I’m sure you will want to do some kind of research. Simply tell the guard in front of this hall’s doorway ‘A Kybii holds no truth, but a Sphinx tells no lies.’ and he’ll gladly open the alternate route.”

“Really? That’s... that’s excellent!” A smile that a child walking into a candy store would wear quickly crept across Abyss’ face.

“You’re quite welcome, Abyss. Do you have any more questions that need answering?”

“No sir. And thank you again, Your Majesty.”

“Please, Abyss.” The king replied with a smile. “Just call me Solaris. Shall I see you tomorrow?”

“Most likely, if I haven’t gotten lost, that is!”

A chorus of chortles erupted from the two felines.

‘I think I’m going to like it here.’ Thought Abyss in his laugher. ‘Nice faces, a town to explore, and countless books at my absolute disposal. For now, I need to have a chat with a certain spiritual eagle that I haven’t seen for a while.’

“Your Maje- I mean, Solaris, I think that I should be going now. I have a few things that I need to attend to.”

Solaris nodded in compliance. “Of course, Abyss. Your escort should be waiting outside.”

“Alright. Again, thank you, Solaris.”

With that, Abyss began to walk back down the gargantuan hallway, opening the large wooden doors with a creak and disappearing behind the archway with a clank following shortly after.

‘Should I?... No. Let him enjoy his time of peace while he still can. It is best that I not pressure him with such matters at this point in time. After all, one person only handle so much at one time.’

A calm breath of oxygen filled the lungs of Solaris. Slowly, his paw began to creep inside his robe, taking out a lone scroll from the inside. His Majesty slowly unfurled the parchment once more, and began to read its contents, one line after the next.

WHOO, DOGGIE! That was a long one! Alright people, how did you like the first chapter in third-person format? Anything you thoroughly enjoyed? Anything you couldn’t stand. Please do elaborate! Also, try and guess the references made in this chapter! From what I know of, there are three; one more subtle than the other.s Until then

ALONS-Y!

P.S: My new fic, Truth from Lies, is up and running! Go check it out!